The Bottomless Pit of Aboriginal Funding by Charles Taylor

The Federal government spending on Indigenous affairs is an astonishing $5.9 billion a year, but most of this money is failing to help Aborigines, according to a report published by the Centre for Independent Studies. (The Australian, August 23, 2016, p.1) The study found that less than 10 percent of 1082 programmes had been subjected to proper evaluation to determine their effectiveness.

The 1082 programmes are “just the tip of the iceberg.” And the figure will increase once non-indigenous NG0 spending in the indigenous sector, and university spending is added, which would add billions.

All of this needs to be viewed in the context of Australia’s government debt. In 2006 it was zero, but today the net Federal government debt is around $13,000 per capita, coming in at the grand figure of $300 billion and growing. Interest costs more than $1 billion a month. Adding state public debt, government debt is now 36 percent of GDP and will get worse, rapidly, the way spending is going.

Over to you Pauline.